One of the main purposes of water irrigation is to grow crops. Unlike some states in the Midwest, certain geographic regions in California, for example, do not receive enough rain during the summer. This makes water irrigation a necessity.
Agricultural irrigation districts in California utilize local rivers, and store the water in reservoirs. The irrigation season usually runs from approximately March 15 to October 15, depending on the weather and water supplies.
Even in geographical regions other than in California, severe drought is causing local governmental jurisdictions to issue water irrigation restrictions. Water irrigation restrictions are typically in the form of allowed or not allowed watering days of the week, and/or times of the day.
Discovery of water irrigation restriction violations is difficult due to the large land areas involved and the transient nature of “wet” soil. One approach is for local authorities to use drones to patrol the geographical regions subjected to water irrigation restrictions. A drawback of using drones is that it is cost prohibitive to provide around the clock aerial coverage due to manpower and equipment costs.
Another aerial approach is to use satellites. Even though the use of satellites may be economically viable, a drawback is that the same geographical region is not observed often enough. Soil surfaces may dry between satellite passes, for example. In addition, the spatial resolution of the satellites is typically too coarse.
Consequently, there is a need to help governmental jurisdictions to discourage local agribusinesses from violating water irrigation restrictions.